snippets of the weekend 9.11.2023

Friday my niece and nephew got dropped off and it was a whirlwind from then on including a trip to Friendly's, playing school, accidentally playing Forgot about Dre with the F word all over, living room fort, etc. I took them back home and was home myself by 11.

Saturday I ran errands including printing return labels and returning assorted shit and going to HomeGoods where I had the audacity to look at candles despite being overly familiar with my own busting at the seams candle collection. I purged and reorganized my home office which I have been meaning to do since June, and after a few years finally maximized the cabinet space which I just had shit shoved in since the original middle shelf is missing. We also tag teamed to wash the couches and reassembling them is the dreaded chore from hell. I lay down on one of said couches at 6:30 pm, turned on The Great British Baking Show, and fell dead ass asleep until 2:30 am. I let the dogs out and went to bed and read until 4:30.

Sunday I got up at 9:30, showered and donned the team apparel - not a huge football fan, even less of an NFL fan, but totally a fan of the Eagles players and culture and of course game day food. I got a pedicure, returned shit to Target and popped into ShopRite, cleaned the bathroom and wood surfaces, vacuumed, put shit away, etc. A quick reading and wooder ice break before loading the car up and heading back to the shore. 

Weekend renters left at 8, and I cleaned the main house until 10:15. In addition to the main floor air conditioner being down, one of the window units is dunzo as of this year too. 

weekending reels on Instagram - current favorite weekend look back mode.

I missed two family weekend snippets posts which my Type A made me go back and do, which are Aug 28 and Labor Day Weekend.

September 11, 22 years gone. How much has changed in that time, and how much has stayed the same. 

snippets of the weekend 7.24.2023

As many of you know, we had to put Mae down on Wednesday so I went into this weekend not exactly right. We are not talking about that at length at this time LOL. Too much loss lately, too early in the grand scheme of things, with Aunt Carrie and a long time friend. Lots of loss and grief for folks around us dealing with things too. The world needs a hug, a bandaid, and several road trips with the windows down and the music so loud we can all sing along at the top of our lungs to stimulate the vagus nerve and calm our central nervous systems. And to cry when we're moved to. Love to everyone dealing with shit out there. 

We had dinner with Swan and Nicole at Tako on Friday night in a big room. It was a riot, we got a lot of laughs out of it. Thanks for the invite and taking our minds off Mae a bit! A nice crescent moon topper greeted us when we got home.

Saturday we drove to the shore early to do turnover. The two weekers I got very bad vibes from were leaving and I fucking pegged it - they left me religious texts, removed a sign from my wall that said "Make people feel loved today" and was colorful but not rainbow, and removed a fucking colored page from my fridge from a kid coloring book with a baby elephant flying and a rainbow. If you are threatened by rainbows, I advise you to seek help. If you are trying to impose the will of your religion on others, I advise you to seek help. If you believe reading religious texts makes you smugly better than other people, I invite you to think about who Jesus was, what he did for others and who he walked, lived, and loved among while on this earth and vibrate in that direction. I also invite you to worry about your own fucking self, refrain from breaking three of the measly five house rules in a vacation rental like an entitled person, and be a good human instead of judging others. Thank you, good day. The text they left, the sign they removed from my wall and hid, and the coloring they removed from the refrigerator and threw out I assume (bottom, they left the top). If you are threatened and fearful of a fucking rainbow or anything that has any colors that might be in it, I am sincerely at a loss for words. But if that's you, do shit like this in your own house, not in mine.

I cleansed my energy in the ocean, made daily shower spray, finished out at the house, and we battled traffic back to Philly. Sometime during the day - after we had already been out in public together - we realized we were wearing the same shirt. LOL forever

MFD went one way and me another, but we eventually both ended up at the annual Sannelli BBQ. I was not fit for public consumption but laughing with old friends is always a balm for the soul. I took my exhausted ass home by 10. Absolutely thrilled to see Fronk's corduroy football jacket brought out and tried on. 

Every time a dog dies we get a new area rug, so that's three since September 2017. We'll hold with this one for a few years if the universe doesn't mind. 

I was restless and needed to return a bunch of shit so I designated Sunday a silent errands day. I went out solo and only said thank you or excuse me. I was a personal shopper for MFD since he needed new luggage. I grief shopped a bit in the HomeGoods aisles of HomeGoods proper and TJMaxx for some shore upgrades. Tried to read at home but had to abandon the book. I did some property management stuff including contracts and responding to inquiries for next summer and checking out how rentals are done elsewhere like here: Villagehouse.jp. You can't get new ideas looking in the same places. And that's that on that. 

weekending reels on Instagram - current favorite weekend look back mode.

snippets of the weekend 11.21.2022

Friday lunch monthly wellness massage with Sarah at Blossom Bodywork. My night was not as glam - I got my flu shot, returned something which took me into a dead mall where I saw a sad and lonely Santa and a notepad that made me laugh, a quick Target trip to get that $10 off $40 of food Circle coupon, a run through Aldi for their supreme pizza (you cannot beat the price), stopped at my brother & Aubrey's to pick up the Thanksgiving turkey aka Phoenix according to my niece the turkey namer. Couched it reading until bed.

Saturday was industrious. I sorted clothes and cleared my room while packing for the shore, then did the same for the dining room table and kitchen area. It feels so good to do this even though I am the one who caused both messes in this case. I ran a few errands to return items and of course perused Marshalls/HomeGoods while doing so. At around 1 MFD and I loaded up my car with things and dogs and I headed back to the shore. After unpacking the car I took the best friend dogs to the beach. Salmon and asparagus for dinner and books all night.

I had plans for an industrious Sunday as well, but most things fell to the wayside while I finished a book and started another. I did make it to The Islander on the boardwalk for its last day in existence. I have loved this store my whole life. I am annoyed at people online acting like this is a world event. These people want to retire and after 40+ years of running this store, let's wish them well and let them get on with it. I also picked up a few items from ACME and a few things from the hardware store. I also painted my nails, did the end of the day beach walk with the best friends, and did a facial at night including gua sha to help with my jaw clenching.

We were home by 9 and I was dead asleep on the couch not moving all night by 10. 

weekending reels on Instagram 

Thanksgiving week. I am thankful and I am off. I celebrated by sleeping 10 hours last night!

Thursday Thoughts - are you really gonna talk about timing in times like these?

Big sea glass score. I was a troll under the bridge, literally, collecting this.

Good views while doing it. 

Sometimes I like graffiti. 

Excuse me sir, is this in reference to the 2016 election? If so hard agree but also why the z. Sitting members of Congress who supported an insurrection had better be dealt with.

If we were raising hands, mine would be up. 

Combining errands. I've long done this - with Earth Day approaching Friday it's a good time to re-share this post. Anyhoo combining errands saves time and everything is done at once, but it is tiring. Last night I drug my ass to return some Amazon shit I've been sitting on, to pick up a new mirror for the shore from Marshalls (got it, but not in love with it, so it's a placeholder for right now, and looking back at a photo I think I should have gotten the below instead so will obvi be going back), then to pick up an order at Target. 

Ruminating on this. It’s an excerpt from an interview Maya Angelou gave to The Paris Review in 1990. 

Solo with Billy cat. MFD took the dogs to Philly Monday and I went back yesterday. This cat pulled all the treats and food out of a freaking armoire. 

Two weeks of laundry.  More than two? Possible. The hot water heater in Philly was replaced yesterday, now just two weeks of laundry to do tonight since I'm headed back to the shore tomorrow and I am in the office today. At least it’s not raining like it has two out of the last three times I’ve been here.

What appears beyond the hyphen in Thursday Thoughts titles is what I'm listening to when I'm starting this - this week is Renegade - Big Red Machine featuring Taylor Swift

Thursday Thoughts - You can see through water all the way up to the sky

1. Forever mood and T-shirt of the day via True Hand Society in Fishtown

2. I went to the post office and grocery store on Monday. The irony of following a car with a sticker on it that says "I stand against socialism" driving on a public road in a town doing intense infrastructure upgrades on a barrier island connected to everything by bridges. 

3. Insert upside down smiley face here. If you said one goddamn thing out loud via your mouth hole or on social media about Hilary's emails, I expect to hear from your ass today. 

Also, reminder, because fuck. People are acting like slavery and segregation with 300 years ago and that every system in the country has not been stacked against Black people in a million ways since up to and including today. Stop. Read something true from scholars. 

4. The extreme laziness still gets me after all these years. They walk a few times a day and have a longer beach walk of 45 min to an hour, which they can spend running off-leash if no one is around. 

5. Beach walks this week.

6. I haven't felt like reading this week, which is unfortunate since I have 13 Netgalley books that publish in March and three books in for me at the library and still I want to purchase several other books. Whyyyyy. I need to read what I have and stop requesting things from the library. Thanks to Show Us Your Books peeps. Have you read through the posts? I need to get to the last five myself this morning. I have felt like eating ice cream.

7. I reported recently that I started using tretinoin on my face. Today I would like to report that I've already stopped that and am on to snail mucus serum. Yes, that's correct. My annual February nervous breakdown skincare overhaul has arrived right on schedule.

8. Reminder if you are single or with someone and think Valentine's Day is a ridiculous concept or a drag: I also think it is a ridiculous concept, but celebrating love of all kinds is not. We should do that at every opportunity. Image via thesweetfeminist

9. Reminder via Lalah Delia

10. Or at like 4:45. I mean I'll do it and do it right either time but come on, man.

Friday eve. I'm into it.

What appears beyond the hyphen in Thursday Thoughts titles is what I'm listening to when I'm starting this - this week is God of Ocean Tides by Counting Crows which I have heard every time I have been in my car because apple music is not shuffling

TWTW - got my money's worth

Friday I painted my nails, had a delicious dinner a la Carol, ran errands to strangely empty Target and Aldi, and watched the end of Christmas Vacation when I got home. 

Saturday I finished loading up the car, changed sheets, and headed to the shore. I unboxed the replacement ottoman and some Christmas gifts that had arrived while I was gone last week. The weather was shit so I read most of the day and night with some time off of that to hit the beach, put stuff I brought back with me away, and pick up dinner from Boyar's. 

Sunday I took Bruce and Ben down to the South end for an hour walk in some glorious light provided by an already risen sun behind a cloud wall on the horizon. Mildly good treasure haul.

I did some cardio dance shit, organized my tupperware cabinet, showered, dropped donations off to the thrift store, and headed over to the community center. The library was having a holiday event with singers, refreshments, and Santa by the tree outside. I dropped off books and picked up a hold, then popped into the Ocean City Historical Museum and the Art Center to buy a piece of pottery. I ordered a new pantry and rolling spice rack for Philly to arrive this week and got some Billy shots from Carol. He's very into the Christmas spirit.

Very early we headed to the beach for sunset and frolicked for a half hour. Back at home I finished the newest Josie Quinn that I started Saturday and had taco salad for dinner. I was asleep by 11.

Another good weekend where I sent it off feeling like I got my time off work money's worth from it. You know?

Happy birthday to Mimi Saturday! Yesterday was Gamma's birthday and I wrote about that a little on the shore instagram here. 

Show Us Your Books tomorrow! See you here for that. Rest in peace Anne Rice - I loved Interview with the Vampire and the rest of the Vampire Chronicles, but my true love is the Mayfair Witches trilogy. If you read IWTV but not the rest of the vampire books, try them. If you like that kind of writing and story, try the Mayfair Witches trilogy too.

Devastating news out of four states hit with December tornadoes Friday, particularly Kentucky. If you have anything to spare please check out this mutual aid doc via Appalachians for Appalachia and do what you can, donate to the governor's Team Western Kentucky Tornado Fund (per Bright on a Budget he did similar to get money directly to people during the pandemic and it worked), or Convoy of Hope (multi-state, April's suggestion). Please avoid the Red Cross and remember that unless you are super local and can drop off goods, cash is king and it is needed if you have any of it to spare.

TWTW - the one before Thanksgiving

Friday was Adele day to do my morning work to. Not a fan of the first four songs aside from Easy on Me. Loved the rest. Ben and Bruce were still out of it from their shots on Thursday and I was still not 100% after my booster Tuesday. We did get to the beach at lunch, and I had Ben and Mae on their electric blanket in the afternoon. After work I started a new book. My dad & Carol arrived in the late afternoon and we ordered from Red's for dinner. I was in bed early.  

Saturday I had my errands (drop large comforter to cleaner, groceries, bagel pickup) done by 9. Dad made breakfast, and I stuffed some Christmas cards. Carol and I ran into the Grinch & Santa on the way to the thrift store and saw lots of pajama-clad shoppers at the Earlier than the Bird shopping event in town. I painted my nails (OPI It's a Girl! and Princesses Rule!). 

In the afternoon I took the dogs on a long beach walk and they were very tired after which we always like. My admins worked very hard stuffing, sealing, stamping, and stickering my holiday cards. Seriously though they have done so much for us while they’ve been staying with us that when they move into their new house it is going to be a rude awakening. I threw some spare ribs and bratwurst in the crockpot with ginger ale, mustard powder, and sauerkraut. Carol and Dad got sides from Bennie's and it was delicious. Carol put out some of the shore Christmas stuff and I watched my first Hallmark Christmas movie ever. 

Sunday I got a good sleep and eased into the day with some reading before showering and heading out to TJ Maxx, talking to Laura on the way. The trip was moderately successful, some shit is getting returned today. I came home in time for snacks I mean the Eagles game, and did not much else aside from receive real name information on someone who sent violent threats online under a fake name to MFD and figure out where to report those since our local PD would bin them and I want a paper trail of them. 

I'm off today. I'm off all week. Huzzah. 

Thursday Thoughts - You pick the place and I'll choose the time

1. First guests check in tomorrow at the shore, the house needs to be cleaned with touch up paint done in several rooms, and last night we lay on the couch watching episodes four, five, and six of Mare of Easttown. What a show. What a character! And she's got her OCNJ sweatshirt on.

2. Of course this meant this morning we were up cleaning by 6:30 and I got a solid two hours in before starting work. After a half hour of cleaning up an epic Gus shit. We at least have a head start on house cleaning since Mark, Sarah, and Harry were down for a few days and they gave it a nice clean before they left yesterday morning. Still, who wants to deep clean a fucking fridge at 6:30 am? Not me. Our cleaning crew couldn't make it before Memorial Day. We clean very few times in advance or post-renter. This is one of those times. FYI I like the Dawn power wash only for bigger jobs, not regular dishwashing shit. 

3. Tuesday night Mark & Sarah made shrimp tacos and we took a super Flower Moon stroll.

4. This was a good porch sitting week. Not a good errand week. I went to the laundromat Tuesday and forgot towels so I put laundry in, went to ACME to exchange water jugs and pick up a few things, picked up CBD for Gus, dropped stuff off and then back to throw towels in. Between that and driving to 8038 stores between Absecon and Egg Harbor yesterday looking for a fucking simple storage bin I ended up getting same day delivered to my brother to bring down with him, it’s been feeling a little like Henry Hill on the day he went down. The only things missing are the drugs and the helicopters. 

5. The dogs were all in Philly with MFD for five nights. I put food on the couch for the first time in years. It was nice to have them back though. Gus is here too, just not pictured.

6. T-shirts this week. Fight racism from Mahogany Mommies, Weird shirt is old. 

7. As we hit the unofficial kickoff to summer weekend...

8. I cannot describe my rage over categorically awful PA abortion bills advanced by the GOP-led House. The way the bills are written, women who miscarry would be fined, forced to file a death certificate, and pay to deal with remains. How to make something extrememly traumatic even more so. Stop voting for people who legislate bodily autonomy. Full stop on that. Can people we pay to work on government fucking stop with abortion already and the same goddamn shit over and fucking over and actually do things to improve circumstances in individual lives and communities? Roe is 48 years old and conservatives have been trying to overturn it for the entirety of those 48 fucking years and making very little fucking progress on literally everything else. Have you fucks ever heard of infrastructure? Jobs? Climate change? Equal rights? Criminal justice reform? Voting rights? Closing the wealth gap? Public education? TAKING CARE OF THE CHILDREN ALREADY FUCKING ALIVE IN THIS COUNTRY? Fuck off out of here with your draconian Gilead goddamn bullshit.

9. Reminder...it's actually for fuck's sake, but the sentiment can ride.

10. E-cards 

What appears beyond the hyphen in Thursday Thoughts titles is what I'm listening to when I'm starting this - this week is Fearless by Pink Floyd